Newspaper drops reader comments

 You may have noticed that The State newspaper no longer allows readers to comment on news articles.

The word "Comments" is still at the end of articles, but clicking on it does not open the comment field. Responses vary from "temporarily suspended" to "the paper is getting a new vendor to handle comments" to one that is probably a lot closer: "Too many crazy comments." 

The State allowed commenters to hide their true names, so people could slip into the attack mode and do so anonymously. It could require a sizeable staff to monitor comments, and reporters should not be expected to do that. 

The problem could probably to solved with a Registration/Confirmation process, but that costs money, too.

So the decision was just made to kill off comments. Let Brian Tolley know at btolley@thestate.com; he is the president and editor of The State.

Comments to newspaper stories are valuable parts of a newspaper. They provide a way for the public to ask questions and to add detail about stories. 

A newspaper subscription is worth less to me if I can't toss in my 2¢ worth.

Your comments are invited here. Please be responsible for them by including your own name.

How will impeachment trial be handled in R2 schools?

How will teachers handle the just-concluded impeachment trial of the 45th POTUS, when students want to discuss it in a history class or a political science class?

This valuable moment in current history should not be avoided. And it must be handled correctly.

Students (and teachers) will come to the discussion with their own political biases and feelings. This is the time to teach the students how to put their feelings and political preferences aside and examine what has just happened through the law and the facts?

Will that happen? What are the odds that will happen? Around here? About 15%. Maybe 15%.

When you look at a party-line vote, a solid bloc of 50 Democrat Senators all in lock-step behind Schumer, that has to be first clue that any discussion will not start out unbiased. And, since the political boundaries of the Richland 2 School District are primarily Democratic, does that mean the local discussion will quickly side with the House Democrats and the 50 U.S. Senators who are Democrats?

Discussion should include the law and the U.S. Constitution. The impeachment case was over when Joe Biden took the oath of office as POTUS. Impeachment can proceed against a President, according to the Constitution. When Donald J. Trump ceased being the President, the case was moot. But the Democrats in the U.S. House persisted. Was it merely a vile, politically-based, desperate move to try to keep Trump from running for President in 2024? 

Or what if the Trump lawyers actually do prove that the electron was stolen? What happens then? If it turns out that Trump actually was the legal winner of the 2020 election, is Biden removed from office and Trump put in? Has that ever happened before in the U.S.?

What did you think of Schumer's Last Stand? I turned the TV off, when he asked for time to whine after the decision.

And why did the Acting President of the Senate ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort the House Managers from the Chambers, but not former President Trump's legal team? Why didn't he excuse the Trump team before giving Schumer time to play Poor Loser?